The Night Watch Charity Run

09/14/2026

Admittedly, this is a little earlier than we usually announce, and open some things. We have had some conversations about the ways we can make a greater impact with The Night Watch Charity Run, and decided that it made sense to open our fundraising page earlier. We don't anticipate this will change how our regular participants support the cause, but may allow for other fundraising opportunities to help us support the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital.

Additionally, the 2027 event will take place on the night of Friday, May 21st 2027, starting at 8:24PM, and will continue to Saturday May 22nd 2027, finishing up the watch at 5:34AM.

https://goldrush.uiowa.edu/the-night-watch-charity-run-2027/?a=1&fbclid=IwY2xjawUVFm1wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAzEwMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR4UNMuknAAMDu_jx_zPJIxNo--lSsZex_b97vMC8oIBd2XWNyvmN6qtoIJ2UQ_aem_3SrM_zSeOY7HDUTdm9-BYQ

Join me and make a gift to GOLDrush

09/13/2026

It was so cool to meet Josh & Jase from the UK, as they your the country promoting giving blood! It was great that they met with Charlie, and experienced the Wave in person! The greatest tradition in College Football!
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BiJDmSfpP/

09/11/2026

We are very excited for Charlie's game tomorrow as Kid Captain for the Hawkeyes! The Night Watch has been a regular part of Charlie's story and conversations as we prepare for the big game tomorrow!
https://www.kcrg.com/2026/09/08/kid-captain-saturdays-cy-hawk-game-is-cedar-rapids-boy/?fbclid=Iwb21leAURIlpjbGNrBREiCXBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeZY0LmNkVP6iG-Zgz6NbkHEqvdiCpGrXZTCzxEpOGs58L9GEY5MWcDQ0o36o_aem_yf5HnaTF_t9rgmvDk7SDIA

Charlie Price of Cedar Rapids will be this week’s Kid Captain.

06/22/2026

There is one more exciting item that was discussed during our recent visit to the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital!
With The Night Watch Charity Run existing donations, as well as our commitment to continued fundraising, we will begin the process to get a dedicated little block on the walls of the Children's Hospital, that will read "The Night Watch Charity Run."
The exact location is to be determined, but we will share more information later this year as details are locked in!

While this is not why any of us do this, it is neat that the generosity and impact from so many will be memorialized within the hospital. We are excited to continue this mission for years to come!

06/18/2026

Today we had the privilege of representing each of our generous donors, supporters, and Night Watch Runners, as we presented the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital with the check from this year's event. This year's check was for $14,017, which was the largest amount generated from any single other year of the Night Watch! This also brings the amount that has been raised by The Night Watch Charity Run to over $50,000. All from a group of folks that show up to run around Kinnick Stadium For The Kids!

Thank you to everyone that made this year possible! Stay tuned, we have more Night Watch News in the coming days!

06/01/2026

The Night Watch Charity Run 2026 Donation Link is now closed! We are excited to announce that with a total fundraising amount of $14,017, this year's total is a new high mark for this event! Every dollar of these funds goes directly to the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital. These donations came from 92 different donors. Thank you to everyone who shared, donated, participated, or supported our event For the Kids!

05/29/2026

Great News! The Night Watch Charity Run has officially surpassed our 2025 donation total of $13,57, with a new Night Watch best ever, $13,660! These contributions came from 90 different generous donors! Thank you to everyone who has participated, shared, or donated to the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital! You all help make this possible!

The link for donations will remain open until June 1st!
https://goldrush.uiowa.edu/the-night-watch-charity-run-2026/?a=1

05/25/2026

The weekend of The Night Watch Charity Run 2026 isn't quite over, and thanks to the incredible generosity of so many, we have hit our initiatial goal for this year!

That said, the link is open until June 1st, and we still want to make as much of an impact as we can! The highest donation total Night Watch has ever raised in a single year for the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital is $13,500 last year. Can we beat that this year?

https://goldrush.uiowa.edu/the-night-watch-charity-run-2026/?a=1

05/23/2026

We have once again successfully kept the Watch. The 2026 Night Watch has come to a close. There is always such amazing energy during this event. From the early hours when there is large groups, running, chatting, and connecting, to the quiet hours in the middle, to the final bursts that happens once the Watchers see the sky getting brighter. At all hours, everyone on the loop is connected by the mission of supporting the kids and families in the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital.

This year's Night Watch saw eight folks pull the Full Night Watch, with one of them being a first time Night Watcher. Four of those eight Night Watchers ran at least 50 miles around Kinnick Stadium during the night. So many incredible performances!

Running far, fast, or staying up all night is great, but it is secondary to our primary mission: The Kids! At the time of this post we have raised $11,067, with those donations from 68 donors, from 11 different states! All of this coming from a bunch of amazing people running loops around Kinnick Stadium!

The donation link will be open for another week! Let's push to hit our donation goals!
https://goldrush.uiowa.edu/the-night-watch-charity-run-2026/?a=1

05/22/2026

The Night Watch shift is nearing. In less than 24 hours we will begin this year's watch over the kids in the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital. The first Watch started the night of my son's Bone Marrow Transplant, exactly 6 years ago tonight. A close friend trying to find a way to support Charlie, decided to grab all of his brightest gear, so kids all the way on the top floor could see him, and start running around Kinnick Stadium. He posted a video about what he was doing, and dozens of runners joined him through the night, keeping Watch until sunrise.

Charlie has fully recovered, and the transplant was a success! The experience of what it is like for the kids, and the families that are living in the hospital, fighting the hardest battles any of them had ever fought, sticks with us to this day.

We continue the annual Watch, in hopes that we can offer support, or even a momentary distraction for those sleepless nights that hospital life can offer. Every year we are asked if we alert the kids or families of our mission. Our response? No. If those kids can find rest among the beeps, vital checks, and just dealing with not being in their own beds, we prefer that. If a mom isn't sleeping, or a kid wakes up in the night, they look down and see a bunch of brightly lit weirdos running around the stadium, and that takes their mind off of the stress, and the situation, we will take that too.

Whether you plan on running/walking a lap, a mile, running all night, or just bringing energy to get the Watchers through the night, remember to take a moment to look up at those windows, give a wave, and remember why we do this!

Now let's get one last night of sleep before The Night Watch Charity Run 2026!

Donation Link
https://www.givecampus.com/schools/universityofiowa/the-night-watch-charity-run-2026?fbclid=iwb21leAR8k3hvbWV5qu7J7mNuCetuDuKuC_h2Dh3LC-1qN7FqGfJ2CaDLFvDHaWR12bWZ3Lie27Oa1zKhppuGWTC92GvmFuaV6jOXR5uR7Ox25ryePy3KThrOfHaB1qrmCSW3GS3qKKGambw_aem_bsc8stp5hhrcqe19kjkfbg&utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e230_tv2_tp1_a1demo01in9msw